DUBAI // Defending Arabian Gulf League champions Al Ahli have signed Liverpool's Moroccan winger Oussama Assaidi as they look to strengthen the squad for the second half of the season.
Assaidi, 26, comes in on a three and a half year deal to fill the spot left vacant by Romanian Mirel Radoi’s departure earlier in the season and sources at the club suggest they could make another new signing in the coming week to replace veteran Brazilian striker Grafite.
Born in Morocco, Assaidi moved to the Netherlands at a very early age and, growing up playing football on the streets of Amsterdam, he enrolled at AZ Alkmaar’s youth academy in 2003. He then moved to Omniworld in 2006 to begin his professional career before making his first appearance in the Dutch top division two years later for De Graafschap.
Later, he made his way to SC Heerenveen, spending three seasons at the club before signing for Liverpool in the summer of 2012, with the Premier League club's manager Brendan Rodgers describing Assaidi as "an exciting player ... that will excite the crowd".
However, Assaidi, who has 12 caps for Morocco, could not nail a regular spot in the Liverpool starting line-up and has spent the last two seasons on loan at Stoke City.
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